Seal for service-cocks.



P. MUELLER SEAL FOR SERVICE COCKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28, 1911.

Patented Sept. 1Q, 1912.

v 0 m a. v m a some MUELLER, or nnea'run,

' mo COMPANY, or DEGATU )3, ins} i3. reliant snai roe env ron-cones.

Specification or? resales.

' citizen of the United States, residing Decatur, in the county of Macon and-State or lllinoisrhave invented new and uselul Improvements in Seals for ServiceCocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in seals or locking means for use on cocks in connection with and water service, and is shown and described herein being applied to what is known to the trade as lock-win gas cocks, in which a wing is cast on t e 006k body and a similar wing on -the 'lrey' for the same, said wings being so positioned with respect to each other, that when the cock is in closed position, holes, which are bored in the wings, register with each other and thus make it possible to attach a padlock to such a cock passing the how of the lock througl1 s a1d holes and thus lock the cook in a closed position, making it impossible to tamper with the same, unless the padlock is maliciously opened, broken or stolen. This method of lockingthe gas cocks is expensive, not only because the cost of a good padlock is nearly equal to that of the cock itself, but such locks are'liable to he opened by persons criminally inclined, and the cock turned on and the gas used without authority or knowledge of the company that furnished the or'water. This diiliculty, however, is overcome in thepresent invention by means of a cheap and practical'loclring and sealing device ffor the cock key comprising a headed pin designed to be passed through the holes in the wings and there fastened J11 such manner, by a sealing member, that it cannot be removed without breaking said sealing member which, for this purpose, is made or frangible material.

This invention, although designed primarily'for use on cocks and will be so described in connection therewith throughout, this specification, may be wi h equal adventagelapplied to other kinds of. cocks, such as are used for regulating {the flow of water and oil, and also to other articles and in ot-her situations than that to which the specific embodiment herein described is adapted- It is ell known'tliat the e re gas 10.61:: ng ot: seals of variou kind n use at the present time, serving we Same pnppose as a padloclt, and these rye netters 7.3, .i. .l' f. W. .L. "l

alien Sept. to,

hpplieatioil filed December 28, 1911. Serial Rte. 688,383.

objectionable for several reasons. Most of them are quite nsive and diilicult to make, and when frequent renewals are required, owing to the number of times which the cocks must he opened and closed on some occasions, the eripense involved In renewing these seals alone amounts to a considerable item. Furthermore, most of these seals require special tools to aflix them to the cook, or special rivetsare necessary, and the expense of providing these articles must be taken into consideration.

The objectof the invention, therefore, to provide a frangible combined lock and sealing member for its intended purposes which shall be chea and efficient and which may be easily and quickly applied by the use of a simple tool in a few minutes, and which, when applied, securely locks and seals the parts against movement without breaking said member, which will be difficult and troublesome to duplicate.

-This invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following detail description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 7 Figui" 1 is a perspective view of a gas cock with the sealing. device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of a cook, the locking and sealing member and a portion of the cock being shown in section. Fig. 3 is'a top plan view of a cock locked and sealed. Fig. l is a perspective view of the several parts of the lock andseal separated. Fig. 5 is a plan View 01" a modified form of the lock and seal. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are views of other modified forms of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the gas cock'body, of well known type, and 11 the turning key there for. Projecting laterally from the side of the gas cock and flush with the opening into which the key 1.1 enters is a wing or projection 12 cast on the cock body with a hole 12 therethrough. A similar wing 13 having a hole 13 ez'tends laterally from the 'key l'l in such position as to be parallel with thejlatter Wing when the cock is turned to full cut-otl position, in which position ti le holes 12 and 13 will aline.

The wings 12 and i; when placed in parallelism are secured together so that neither ey nor cock body can he turned relatively o each other, by means of a locking member 15 which, in the present instance, is in the form of a pin 16, made of iron, steel orsome other suitable material, on one end of which is a head 17, the other end 17 may be slightly reduced in diameter toform a shoulder 1C as shown in Figs. 2 and i. A depression 17* is formed in one side of the end of said pin which side will, in some instances, be flattened as at 17. The pin 16 is inserted in the holes 12 and It? with its head bearing against the under side of the win 12, and its opposite end projecting beyon the other wing with the depression 17 b facing outwardly.

A frangible collar 18 which may have a lug 18 is placed on the pro]ect1ng end of the pin and fastened thereto by a screw.

19 having a weakened portion 20 just below its head or slotted end 21. The screw 19 20 is screwed through the complementally threaded collar and its lug 18, if 1t has one, and by tightening said screw, its inner end engages the depression 17 in the pin, thus fastening the collar in place thereon. The head of the screw is then broken off within the threaded portion of the collar thus making it impossible to remove the screw and sealing the movable parts of the cock. lVhen the pin 16 is made with a reduced end to form. the shoulder 16 its length is such that the shoulder reaches to the top, or slightly above the top surface of the wing 13 to form a. rest for the collar 18, which shoulder together with the bottom of the collar serves to locate or position the point of the set screw 19 with relation to the depression 17 in the pin.

The collar lS'may be made in ditl'crcnt shapes and have various forms of openings therethrough for the pin 16. In 1, 3

and 4: the collar somewhat resembles a trefoil in outline with a similar shaped opening 25 thercthrough-.having a fiat side 26 that bears against the flat side 17 of the pin 16 and a curved surface opposite which bears against its curved side. At opposite lateral sides of the collar-the opening 25 spaced from the pin as shown to permit the collar being broken by a pair of pliers, a hammer orother tool.

Fig. 5 shows an elliptical collar 27 with a like shaped opening 28 the short axis of which opening is substantially the diameter of the pin while the long axis is greater.

thus leaving a space on 'each side of the pin for breaking purposes. Other shapes of openings may beemployed provided a hearing surface is furnished to take the thrust of the screw 19 and oppositely disposed portions of the collar be spaced from the pin.

.In Figs. 6 and 7 the frangible collar 30 is designed to be used in connection with a pin 31 of uniform diameter throughout its length, over the end of which the collar is slipped. ()ppositcly disposed lugs 32 on the top of the collar project over the opening 33 thercthrough to rest on the end of the pin and hold the collar in position thereon to bring the end of the screw 19 opposite the depression 34 in the side of said pin that it may be screwed thereinto without trouble. To increase the frangibility of the collar, notches 35 may be made in the outer-pe riphery of the same. Instead of slotting the head of the screw 19,215 in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5, the head 36 may be polygonal, or like a bolt head, and the bodywcakcned as at 37, between the head and thread to permit the head being broken off. I

In the modification represented in Fig. 8, the bolt 38 is shorter and barely projects above the wing 13 of the cock key. Placed over the end of the pin is a frangible collar 39 made in this instance like a washer with a central hole for a screw 40 threaded into 5 a 'complementally threaded axial hole in the bolt. The screw may be formed with a tapered collar 41 to enter a similarly shaped countersink. in the 'asher 39 for holding the latter in position on-the end of the pin. A head 36 similar to that on the screw of Figs. (5 and 7 is provided, and the body similarly weakened at 37 between the head and the tapered collar so that the head may be broken off and the screw rendered irremovable.

A. locking and sealing member such as above described oflcrs greater security against opening the cock without detection than a padlock now commonly employed, and is also, much cheaper. The member must be broken before the cock can be used again, and asthcse members are in the possession only of authorized persons, it quite diflicult to replace one, if broken, by a -10!) person criminally inclined to use the gas or other fluid flowing through the cock.

llaving fully described iny invention what I claim as new is:

1. In combination with a cock body haw ing a perforated wing, and a cock key having a similar wing adapted to be brought into parallelism with the wing on themock body and wri'orations therein into line, of I a locking member comprising a. smooth pin 116 passing through said perforations to hold the key and cock body against relative movement, a frangible collar mounted on said pin, and a screw for connecting said collar to the pin, said screw having a \vcak- 120 ened portion intermediate ils ends whi rcby its headed end may be broken o'll below the surface oi the collar.

2. In' combination Wllll a cock body ihav ing a pcrii'oraliml wing, and a cock key having a similar wing adaplcd to be brought inlo parallelism wilh the wing on the cock body and the perforations lhcrcin inlo linc,

ol :1. locking member comprising a smooth suril'accd pin passing through said perfora- 1.30

tions to hold thekey and cock body against relative movement a frangible collar mounted on the end of said pin, and a screw threaded into said collar to bear against said pin for retaining said collar and pin in place, said screw having a weakened portion intermediate its ends whereby its headed end may be broken off below the surface of the collar.

3. In combination with a cock body having a perforated wing, and a cock key having a similar win adapted to be brought into parallelism with the wing on the cock body and the perforations therein into line of a locking member comprising a heade pin having a smooth body passing through said perforations to hold the key and cook body a ainst relative movement, a frangible collar aving an elon ated opening therethrough for the end 0 said pin to provide breaking spaces on o posite sides of the pin, and a screw threade Into said collar to bear against said in for retaining both collar and pin in p ace on. the wings, said screw having a weakened portion intermediate its ends whereby its headed end may be broken off below the surface of the collar.

4. In combination with a cook body having a perforated wing and a cock key having a similar wing adapted to be brought into parallelism with the wing on the cock body and the perforations therein into line of a locking member comprising a hea'de pin passin through said perforations and projecting beyond the same, a fran 'ble collar naving an opening therethroug for the end of the pin, said openin being lon er in one direction to form brea ing spaces etween the collar and the pin on op osite sides of the pin, and a screw threads into said collar and en aging the pin for retaining said collar an pm In place on the cock, said screw having a groove formed therein intermediate its ends which will permit the headed end to be broken off below the surface of the collar. I

5. In combination with a cook, the body and kc of which have each a perforated wing a apted to be brought into alinement, a pin adapted to be passed through the perforatlons in the wings and project beyond the same, said projecting portion having a flattened side and depression therein, a collar on said projecting portion of the pin and contacting therewith on opposite sides, other portions of said collar being spaced from the pin, and a screw having a weakened portion which Ina be broken off after belng seated, threade into said collar and into a depression in said pin.

6. In combination with a cock, the body and key of which have each a perforated wing adapted to be brought into alinement, a pin adapted to be passed through the perforations in the wings and project beyond the same, said projectin portion having a depression on its side an reduced in dlameter to form a shoulder on the in in close relation to the outer surface of t e adjacent wing, a collar mounted on said projecting portlon of the pin and a screw having a weakened portion by means of which the screw head can be easily broken off after its point has been seated in said de ression, said shoulder forming a stop for t e collar whereby to locate the point of said screw in line with the depression in the pin.

7. A locking and sealing device comprisingx. pin for engaging the parts to be 100 ed, a frangible co ar adapted to fit over said pin after positioning the pin, and means carried by said col ar for irremovably connecting the collar to the pin.

8. A locking and'sealing device comprism a pin for engaging the parts to be 10c ed, a frangible collar adapted to fit over said pm after ositioning the pin, means for limiting the ongitudinal position on the pin of said collar, and means carried by the collar for irremovably connecting the collar to the in.

9. A 10c 'ng and sealing device comprising a headed pin, a frangi le collar adapted to fit over the end of said pin and spaced therefrom at certain ortions to weaken the collar, and a screw t readed into said collar to on age said pin, said screw having a weakene portion In its stem to permit its head being broken off below the surface of the collar, thereby rendering the collar irremovable.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PHILIP MUELLER. Witnesses:

WILLIAM R. Broom, CATHERINE E. MOKEOWN.

copies of thil patent may be obtained for live cents each, by Washington, D. 0."

addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, 

